The Fall of Tyre’s Ruler

28 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Your[a] heart is proud, and you have said, “I am a god;(A) I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.” Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god. Yes, you are wiser than Daniel;(B) no secret is hidden from you! By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired wealth for yourself. You have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.(C) By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has become proud because of your wealth.

“‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

Because you regard your heart as that of a god,
I am about to bring strangers against you,
ruthless men from the nations.
They will draw their swords
against your magnificent wisdom
and will pierce your splendor.(D)
They will bring you down to the Pit,(E)
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the sea.
Will you still say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who slay[b] you?
Yet you will be only a man, not a god,
in the hands of those who kill you.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(F)
at the hands of strangers.(G)
For I have spoken.

This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”

A Lament for Tyre’s King

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, lament(H) for the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

You were the seal[c] of perfection,[d]
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(I)
13 You were in Eden,(J) the garden of God.
Every kind of precious stone covered you:
carnelian, topaz, and diamond,[e]
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise[f] and emerald.[g]
Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold;(K)
they were prepared on the day you were created.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub,(L)
for[h] I had appointed you.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 From the day you were created
you were blameless in your ways
until wickedness was found in you.
16 Through the abundance of your trade,
you were filled with violence, and you sinned.
So I expelled you in disgrace
from the mountain of God,
and banished you, guardian cherub,[i]
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud because of your beauty;(M)
For the sake of your splendor
you corrupted your wisdom.
So I threw you down to the ground;[j]
I made you a spectacle before kings.
18 You profaned your sanctuaries
by the magnitude of your iniquities
in your dishonest trade.
So I made fire come from within you,
and it consumed you.(N)
I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of everyone watching you.
19 All those who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you.
You have become an object of horror
and will never exist again.’”(O)

A Prophecy against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, face Sidon(P) and prophesy against it. 22 You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Look! I am against you, Sidon,(Q)
and I will display my glory within you.
They will know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments against her(R)
and demonstrate my holiness through her.
23 I will send a plague against her(S)
and bloodshed in her streets;
the slain will fall within her,
while the sword is against her[k] on every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24 “‘The house of Israel will no longer be hurt by[l] prickly briers or painful thorns(T) from all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

25 “‘This is what the Lord God says: When I gather the house of Israel(U) from the peoples where they are scattered, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there securely,(V) build houses, and plant vineyards.(W) They will live securely when I execute judgments(X) against all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Footnotes

  1. 28:2 Lit Because your
  2. 28:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read of the one who kills
  3. 28:12 Or sealer
  4. 28:12 Hb obscure
  5. 28:13 Hb obscure
  6. 28:13 Or malachite, or garnet
  7. 28:13 Or beryl
  8. 28:14 Or With an anointed guardian cherub
  9. 28:16 Or and the guardian cherub banished you
  10. 28:17 Or earth
  11. 28:23 Or within her by the sword
  12. 28:24 Lit longer have

Prophecy against Tyre

28 This message came to me from the Lord: “Son of Man, tell Tyre’s Commander-in-Chief,[a] ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“Because your heart is arrogant,[b]
    and because you keep saying,
‘I have taken my seat,
    I am a god,
        seated in God’s seat right in the middle[c] of the sea,’[d]
and because you’re a man,
    and not a god,
even though you pretend
    that you have a god-like heart…
Look! You’re wiser than Daniel, aren’t you?
    No secret is too mysterious for you!
Your wisdom and understanding
    brought you phenomenal wealth.
You’ve brought gold and silver
    into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom,
    by your skills in trading
you have amassed wealth for yourself
    and your heart has become arrogant
        because of your wealth.”

Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

“Because you’ve made your heart
    like that of God
Therefore, look!
    I’m bringing foreigners in your direction,
        the most terrifying of nations!
They will direct their violence[e]
    against the grandeur
        that you’ve created by your wisdom.
They’ll send you down to the Pit,[f]
    and you’ll die defiled in the depths of the sea.
Is that when you’ll say, ‘I’m God’
    to the face of those who will be killing you?
After all, you’re a man,
    and have never been a god,
especially when you’re under the control[g] of those
    who will defile you!
10 You will die a death fit for the uncircumcised
    at the hand of foreigners.”
‘for I have said it will be so,’
    declares the Lord.”

A Rebuke for Tyre’s King

11 Another message came to me from the Lord, and this is what it said: 12 “Son of Man, start singing this lamentation for the king of Tyre. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“You served as my[h] model,
    my example of complete wisdom
        and perfect beauty.
13 You used to be in Eden—
    God’s paradise!
You wore precious stones for clothing:
ruby,[i] topaz, diamond,[j]
    beryl,[k] onyx, jasper,
        sapphire,[l] turquoise, and carbuncle.
Your settings were crafted in gold,
    along with your engravings.
On the day of your creation
    they had been prepared!

14 “You were the anointed cherub;
    having been set in place
on the holy mountain of God,
    you walked in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your behavior[m]
    from the day you were created
        until wickedness was discovered in you.
16 Since your vast business planning[n]
    filled you with violent intent[o]
from top to bottom,[p]
    you sinned,
so I cast you away as defiled
    from the mountain of God.
I destroyed you,
    you guardian cherub,
        from the midst of the fiery stones.
17 Your heart grew arrogant because of your beauty;
    you annihilated your own wisdom
        because of your splendor.
Then I threw you to the ground
    in the presence of kings,
        giving them a good look at you!
18 By all of your iniquity
    and unrighteous business planning[q]
you defiled your sanctuaries,
    so I’m going to bring out fire from within you
and burn you to ashes on the earth
    before the whole watching world!
19 Everyone who knows you
    throughout all the nations
will be appalled at your calamity
    and you will no longer exist forever.”’”

The Judgment of Sidon

20 Another message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say:

21 “Son of Man, turn your attention[r] to Sidon and prophesy against her.[s] 22 Tell her:

‘Pay attention to me, Sidon!
    I’m against you,
        and I’m going to glorify myself right in your midst.’
They’ll learn that I am the Lord
    when I carry out these punishments
        and manifest my holiness in her midst.

23 I’m going to send disease into that city[t]
    and blood into her streets.
People will drop dead in her midst
    from the violence done to[u] her from every side.
        Then they’ll learn that I am the Lord God.”

The Future Regathering of Israel

24 “The house of Israel will never again suffer from painful briers and sharp thorn bushes that surround them on every side, and they will learn that I am the Lord. 25 This is what the Lord God says:

‘When I gather the house of Israel from the nations to which I’ve scattered them, I will show them my holiness before the watching world, and they will live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live in safety in the land,[v] building houses and planting vineyards. They’ll live in safety while I judge everyone who maligns them among those who surround them. At that time they’ll learn that I am the Lord their God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
  2. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. tall
  3. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. heart
  4. Ezekiel 28:2 I.e., an allusion to Tyre’s location on an island off the coast of Lebanon
  5. Ezekiel 28:7 Lit. swords
  6. Ezekiel 28:8 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
  7. Ezekiel 28:9 Lit. you’re in the hand
  8. Ezekiel 28:12 The Heb. lacks my
  9. Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. red
  10. Ezekiel 28:13 Or emerald
  11. Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. Tarshish; i.e. a yellow stone
  12. Ezekiel 28:13 Or lapis lazuli; a bright blue stone
  13. Ezekiel 28:15 Lit. ways
  14. Ezekiel 28:16 Or merchandizing
  15. Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. with violence
  16. Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. in your midst
  17. Ezekiel 28:18 Or merchandizing
  18. Ezekiel 28:21 Lit. face
  19. Ezekiel 28:21 I.e., the city personified as a woman
  20. Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. disease into her
  21. Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. the sword brought against
  22. Ezekiel 28:26 Lit. in her